Monday, November 22, 2010

Christmas is getting close! How many days do we have left??? I don't know, let me go count it up on the calender. No, wait. . . Let me check my new Days til Christmas countdown blocks!

{Ok, there is not 10 days left, but you get the idea.}

I love being reminded that Christmas is getting closer, don't you?!

Wanna make one?

What you'll need;

two square blocks - you can get these from the craft store.

a piece of wood for the base - I used a 2x4 cut a little longer than the two blocks put together

paint

Christmas paper (scrapbook or wrapping paper would work)

numbers to put on the blocks I used stickers but vinyl would work too.

"Days 'til Christmas" printout for the base or vinyl or marker

glue or mod podge

First step, paint all the wooden pieces.

next cut your paper the size of your blocks, or maybe slightly smaller. You'll need to cover all six sides.

Glue or mod podge them on and let them dry.

For my base I just printed out "Days 'til Christmas" on regular computer paper and mod podged it right on the base. But you could use vinyl or even a marker and just write it on.

Now its time to stick on the numbers. On the first block you are going to put numbers 0,1,2,3,4,5 and on the second block you are going to put 0,1,2,6,7,8 (note: your 6 will also double as your 9 so make sure it looks like a 9 when turned upside down!)

Now its time to display them. . . almost. Your new blocks will count down from 32 days til Christmas all the way down to 0!

What a perfect way to keep track of how many days left, without all the mess and bulk of other methods like the good ol' paper chains!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Tis the Season to be thankful!
I don't know about you, but I love a cute little reminder to be thankful and to count my blessings.

So I made this cute little Bee Happy, Bee Thankful print to put in my frame on my entryway table.
Really, at this time of year I am reminded of just how fortunate many of us are, me especially, and there is absolutely no reason not to be happy and thankful!

If you want to print your own, here you go - especially for you.

I also made this other print and put it in a frame and it works just like a dry erase board.
Now we can write down our blessings one by one each time we are reminded of something else we are blessed with.

Its a super easy way to count your blessings.
If you'd like one to frame for yourself, once again, go ahead and take it.
Just right click on the printable and save them to your computer then print and frame!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

We all love a craft that doesn't cost too much {especially around the holidays}!
I've got two fun Christmas-y wreaths that are both super easy and super inexpensive!

This festive ornament wreath,

and this super fun card holding wreath!

First for our pretty and shiny ornament wreath here is what you need:
A pre-made wreath, or some garland made into a wreath
Ornaments in a few different sizes
Hot glue gun
Sparkly J-O-Y

First things first, the sparkly J-O-Y letters I made myself. I just used wooden letters from the craft store, some glue and glitter - easy peasy!

So I glued the letters on to the wreath first where I wanted them, then I just started placing the ornaments where I wanted them. I took off the top metal piece and glued the top of the ornament onto the wreath so it doesn't show.

Seriously easy! It took me a half hour and cost me $4.50!

Oooh Yeah!

Now onto the card holding wreath.

Only three ingredients needed:

A wooden embroidery hoop

mini wooden paperclips

woodglue

And this project really is as easy as gluing the paperclips onto the embroidery hoop!

Make sure you alternate where the paperclip opens as shown in the picture below.

Every other one opens to the inside and every other one opens to the outside.

Let your glue dry for a while so your paperclips don't pop off and there you have your fun card holding wreath!

I like this one cuz its different from what you normally see in the way of Christmas card displays.

Monday, November 15, 2010

This super festive etched glass plate is so cute you may have to make two. . . one to give away and one to keep!

This would make a cute plate to set out for Santa on Christmas eve, or just a great way to give treats to your friends and neighbors. Once the treats are gone, they still have the pretty plate!

Two gifts in one!

Really cute and really easy!! You have to try it, It will be time well spent!

Start out with the dishes you are going to etch. . . other than plates you could use etch onto glasses or a casserole dish, or even a big glass bowl, pretty much anything.

Next, decide what you want to etch into the plate. I went with a simple snowflake, this way it can be used all winter, not only at Christmas. You could etch a snowman, or candy canes, or even a Santa silhouette.

Next cut out your stencil. I printed and cut out a snowflake then traced it onto contact paper.

Now Cut it out of the contact paper and stick it to your plate.

Be sure to make sure your plate is nice and clean.

I etched my design onto the bottom of the plate so the top surface would remain nice and smooth.

Now its time for the etching. I used Armour Etch that I got from Michaels.

It costs right around ten bucks for a little bottle, so it is tempting to be a little stingy when putting it on your plate. . . not a good idea.

My first try I painted on a thin layer of the cream. When I wiped it off it was etched all weird and uneven.

So make sure you really glob it on and cover every little spot.

Let it sit there for as long as you like. . . one minute is not long enough, and I found that 5-10 minutes is about perfect.

Now scrape it all off. The great thing about this stuff is that you can reuse it! You can use it then scrape it right back into the bottle!